Louis
de Bernieres was born in London
in 1954. He joined the Army at 18, but left after only four months. Then he
attended Manchester University, followed by a postgraduate certificate in
Education from the University of Leicester, and was also awarded an MA at a
London university. Like many writers, he had a number of odd jobs before he
found his vocation, such as a car mechanic and landscape gardener. However, his
most inspiring job would appear to be the stint he had teaching English in
Columbia, as his first three novels were set in Latin America (“The War of
Don Emmanuel’s Nether Parts” 1990, “Senor Vivo
and the Coca Lord” 1991, and “The
Troublesome Offspring of Cardinal Guzman” 1992). In 1994, his most famous
novel, “Captain Corelli’s Mandolin” was published, with sales becoming quite
frenzied half a decade after this – I remember the mountains of mandolins in
bookshops as if it were yesterday (sigh). In 1993, Granta showed some foresight
by naming him in their second list of Best British Young Novelists. “Captain Corelli’s Mandolin” won The
Sunday Express Book of the Year 1994, and The Commonwealth Writers Prize in
1995, and no doubt contributed a great deal to Louis de Bernieres winning
Author of the Year at the 1997 British Book Awards. The novel was made into a
film in 2001. Louis de Bernieres’ next novel had a long gestation period, with
“Birds
without Wings” only appearing in 2004. A collection of short stories called
“Red
Dog” was published in 2001, his “Labels”
booklet was published in 1997, the play “Sunday
Morning in the Centre of the World” in 2001, and he also wrote the
introduction for “The Book
of Job” in 1998 for Canongate’s famous series. In August 2004, his laptop
containing the first 50 pages of a novel called “A Partisan’s Daughter” was stolen.
He had started the novel in his 20s, and it had gone through many drafts due to
his difficulty in finding a satisfactory narrative structure.
Archie and the Woman
– an
excellent Louis de Bernieres short story
Mamacita’s
Treasure – another excellent Louis de Bernieres short story
Read
an extract from The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts
Read
an extract from Senor Vivo and the Coca Lord
Read
an extract from The Troublesome Offspring of Cardinal Guzman
How
I learned to love Greece – Louis de Bernieres writes about his troubled
relationship with the country, and how the break up of a love affair whilst on
holiday in Greece in his 20s led to him taking up writing seriously
Authors
take sides on Iraq and the Gulf War – Louis de Bernieres’ view of the
conflict
Captain Corelli's Mandolin -
Kevin Patrick Mahoney reviews Louis de Bernieres' superb novel. Below is
a series of links providing the context to the novel. These links follow
the narrative chronologically:
Captain
Corelli's Mandolin - the movie website
Requiem: The
Soldier by Humbert Wolfe - Bernieres chose this poem as the novel's
dedication
Paul
Ehrlich - it was this famous German doctor who discovered Salvarsan,
the treatment Dr Iannis uses for syphilis
Kefalonia
Tradition - a most impressive page on Cephallonian culture
Papilionaceous -
Bernieres uses a most apt word for the obstruction in Stamatis's ear
Benito
Mussolini - a brief bio of the dictator so mercilessly mocked by
Bernieres
Engines
of Autarky - an explanation of the workings of autarky
Mussolini and the
Cult of the Leader - an explanation of the beginnings of Fascism
Comando
Supremo: Gian Galeazzo Ciano - Ciano did not ultimately benefit from
his political and family relations with Mussolini
King
Zog - a biography of King Zog
The Royal Navy
Shatters the Italian Fleet - the early naval war
Kefalos
and Aurora - the myth of Cephallonia
Greek
Myth - the Guardian takes a look at the most controversial aspect of
the novel, Bernieres' view of ELAS and the Andartes
Joseph,
New Martyr of Euboea, Greece - the Communists don't exactly shine in
this atrocity
Achilles -
an in depth look at the Achilles myth. Note that he is a son of a sea
nymph, and that Mandras is liked to a male sea nymph by Pelagia, who spots him
bathing naked in the sea. Hector,
the greatest warrior of Troy, is the pseudonym chosen by Mandras's boss in the
Andartes
The
Homosexual Pastoral Tradition - also mentions Achilles and Patroclus
Points
in Aristophanes's Speech
Exploring
Plato's Dialogues: Symposium 2 - mentions Achilles and Patroclus, and
also the figure of Orpheus -
a model for Corelli perhaps?
The
War in the Mediterranean 1940-1941
Greece -
a brief survey of the country at the start of the war
Eleftherios
Venizelos - a brief bio
The
Second Venizelos Golden Age
Thermopylae -
an article on the battle
Speech delivered by
Benito Mussolini - manages to almost outdo Bernieres in its comedy
Greek/Italian
War - mentions the Julia Division
Comando
Supremo 1940 - explains why the Italian Air Force was in Belgium
Mare
Nostrum - gives an insight into Mussolini's naval policy
Catholic
Encyclopedia: Iconostasis - where Arsenios hides in the church
The
Rebetiko - an insight
Kiki
Gounaridou - Intertext the Regendering of Nietzsche's Superman in Kostis
Palamas's Triseugene - gender roles also trouble Pelagia. She's a
woman, but she has the masculine knowledge of how to be a physician
Robert
Guiscard - a bio of one of the early invaders of Cephallonia
Robert
Guiscard - another bio
Hippocrates
quotes - includes the quote from Hippocrates concerning "extreme
remedies"
Kokoretsi -
an evocative description
An
Oracle Concerning Tyre: Wail, O Ships of Tarshish - Arsenios quotes
from Isaiah
Bersaglieri –
find out about them
Kefi -
a word that is used to describe Mandras
Kefalonia -
a brief history
Death
of Procris - some more artistic versions of Ovid's tale
Procris -
a detailed examination of the myth.
The
Infidelities of Cephalus and Procis - as told by Ovid
reredos -
a definition
Constatine
Cavafy - a bio and some poems
Katharevousa -
an account of the move to change the Greek language
Greece -
tells of the origins of Katharevousa
and its ultimate fate
Nereid -
nymphs of the sea. Pelagia thinks of these when she sees Mandras swim
naked
Nymphs -
a detailed examination
1940 -
features the Lupi di Toscana briefly
Gewgaw -
a definition
Cretonne -
a definition
Alexandros
Papagos - a brief bio
Puttees -
a definition
Sunday November 10
1940 - mentions General Soddu
Newman
Apologetics Resource - reveals that 'agapeton' means "beloved
son"
Kourabiedes -
a recipe
Christosomo -
a recipe for this Greek Christmas bread
Loukoumades:
Greek Honey Puffs - another recipe
Kefalonia -
mentions the "holy snakes"
Callimachus -
reveals the origins of the "mega biblion, mega kakon" quote
Greek
recipes: Sweet Easter Bread - Tsoureki
Italian
Tanks at War - mentions the Centauro division
Comando
Supremo – has a bio General Cavallero
SM79
Torpedo-bomber - some details of the Italian plane that bombs Carlo
and his fellow soldiers
Italian Service
Rifles and Carbines - includes Model 91
Andean
Camelids - mentions the spurious link between Llamas and syphilis
History of the
Alpaca - more about the rumoured association between Llamas and
syphilis
Words: catamite -
a definition
Arta -
mentions Anna Palaiologos
Odyssey -
includes the grotesque wife of Antiphates
Philoctetes -
his story from the Odyssey
Circe –
more details
The story of Glaucus and Scylla - could
have inspired Bernieres' seduction of Mandras by the old crone. Note that
Pelagia has previously identified Mandras as a Nymph, and that Scylla was a
Nymph
Vachlos' Open Letter
to Hitler - the complete text of the document that Dr Iannis frames
upon the wall
Byron -
includes details of Byron's visit to Cephallonia
Esplanade -
mentions the unpopular Sir Thomas Maitland
Death
of Socrates - including the origins of the "migration of the
soul" quote
Modern History
Sourcebook: Lord Byron : The Isles of Greece - this poem is quoted in Captain
Corelli's Mandolin
The
Special Operations Executive in Greece and Norway - looks at SOE's
troubled relationship with ELAS
Greek
Communism and Macedonian Nationalism - mentions a great deal about
ELAS
The Greek Civil
War: from liberation to catastrophe
Thetis 4 -
mentions the work of Brigadier Myers
The
Reception of Locke's Politics - talks about Josiah Tucker's attack on
Locke. Locke also wrote a book called "The Two Treatises of
Government"
Captain
Corelli's Time Machine - an article about the filming of Captain
Corelli, mentioning Colonel Barge
Carl Maria von Weber -
a brief bio
Arcangelo
Corelli "New Orpheus of our Times" - details about Peter
Allsop's book. I now see Captain Corelli as a sort of Orpheus, and maybe
Peter Allsop read Bernieres' novel and thought the same. Certainly, the
ending of the novel certainly flirts with the figure of Orpheus in Hell,
looking back when he shouldn't. This gloss also makes the resolution of
the novel far more appealing and understandable
Arcangelo
Corelli: a biographical note
Arcangelo
Corelli – the Wikipedia entry
The
Orpheus of the Violin: Arcangelo Corelli's Music in its Cultural Context -
Robert Mealy reveals that describing Arcangelo Corelli as the "Orpheus of
the Violin" is first credited to Georg Muffat in 1682. This rather
tends to support my view that Bernieres intended Captain Corelli to be
identified with his namesake, and even more closely to the legend of Orpheus
looking back in Hell
Hellenic
Orpheus - the origins of the Orpheus myth
Virgil
on Orpheus - Eurydice died and went to Hell after being chased by
Aristaeus - maybe another model for Mandras?
Waterhouse
Nymphs and Orpheus - Nymphs found Orpheus's dismembered body
The
Invisible Basilica: Orpheus - another account of the life and death of
Orpheus
Books:
Greek Myth - includes de Bernieres' frank attack on the Daily Mirror's
reading of Captain Corelli's Mandolin
Bio
of Lenin - mentions Hector's Bible: "What is to be Done?"
John Mulgan -
a possible model for Tom Barnes?
Ida Dalser -
Mussolini is accused of bigamy - he possibly married Ida
Margherita
Sarfatti - Mussolini's mistress founded the Novecento Italiano art
movement
Margherita
Sarfatti - a bio
Creator/Maker/Muse:
Leda Rafinelli - check out her palm reading of Mussolini!
The Rise of
Facism - includes an account of Matteoti's murder
D'Annunzio
and the Seizure of Fiume
Piero
Gobetti and the Liberal Revolution in Italy
Carlo
Roselli: Socialist Herectic and Antifascist Exile
Comando
Supremo: Benito Mussolini - includes Mussolini's attack on Corfu
Vilfredo
Pareto: The Karl Marx of Fascism
Toscanini, the
Recorded Legend - mentions Toscanini's defiance of Mussolini
Benedetto
Croce - a bio
Georgi
Plekhanov - a bio
Has God
Rejected His People? - includes a definition of "daskdale"
as "teacher"
Sesquipedalian -
a definition
The
Certainty of Victory - it's verses from the Psalms which Father
Arsenios quotes at the occupying forces
Psalms
21 - Arsenios quotes this one as well
Danza,
danza, fanciulla gentile - the text
Donna non vidi
mai - listen to the tune
Kleft -
a definition
The
Marble Emperor - was the Byzantium Emperor Constantine
Melampus -
the myth explained
Melampus -
the myth in more depth
Sternutatory -
a definition
Philhellene's
Progress: Patrick Leigh Fermor
The
Cretan Runner: Memories of Wartime Crete - more on the work of Patrick
Leigh Fermor, whose exploits were featured in the Powell and Pressburger film
"ILL Met by Moonlight"
Parasites -
all that you never wanted to know about them
The
Lotos-Eaters by Tennyson
The
Anvil Decision - mentions General 'Jumbo' Wilson
The
Underworld - mentions the "meadows of asphodel"
Quotations
Worth Remembering - includes Homer's "Men in their
Generations" from the Iliad by way of the E. V. Rieu translation
Horatius
Cocles - the myth
The
story of Horatius Cocles - as told by Livy
Cicatrice -
a definition
Xenitia – means exile, living away from home
Parthenogenesis -
a definition
The Task of
Sisyphus - as related by Homer in the Odyssey
The Task of
Sisyphus - in cartoon form
Delphi -
how it became "the navel of the world"
Battle
of Vitsi - is mentioned here
Core
n' Grato - have a listen
Parlami
d'amore - have a listen
Rigoletto,
La donna e mobile - an English translation of the words
La
Donna e Mobile - have a listen
Torna
a Surriento - the story behind the song
Liberation
and Civil Wars - Greek history after the war
Madden's
Mandolin - how the director of "Shakespeare in Love"
took on de Bernieres' novel
Eleni
Karaindrou - a bio. Corelli works as a film composer on Greek
films when she's unavailable
Captain
Corelli's World - where the Italian soldiers lived and died on
Cephallonia
The
German-Italian Conflict in Kefalonia in 1943
The
Events that Led to the Conflict
The
Great Escape - the sinking of HMS Perseus off the coast of Cephallonia
The British Novel is Dead – so long live British
novels – the 1993 Granta list of the Best Young
Novelists was quite controversial, but it did pay due attention to Louis de
Bernieres
A
Soldier and his musical instruments – Nicci Gerrard talks to Louis de
Bernieres just after the publication of “Captain Corelli’s Mandolin”, before
the frenzy began
De
Bernieres takes revenge for review – the legendary
"How long are you people going to sit
in the dark in an air-pocket, wanking each other off?" letter to The
Morning Star
False
note on Il Duce – Nicholas Farrell criticises Louis de Bernieres’ portrait
of Mussolini. Louis de Bernieres replies in Corelli’s
Defence
Books and
Writing – Louis de Bernieres talks to Ramona Koval about his stint in the
Army, Thomas Hardy, and farting dogs
Hay
Diary – Owen Sheers is the actor that Bernieres would have preferred to
have played Corelli
I
know I’m not Tolstoy, but I try – Louis de Bernieres talks to Geraldine
Bedell after “Birds without Wings” has been published
Instruments
of Pleasure; Louis de Bernieres writes to keep himself – in which the
author reveals that his grandfather fought at Gallipoli, the famous that
features in “Birds without Wings”
De
Bernieres seeks happy ending after book draft is stolen – more details
about the theft of “A Partisan’s Daughter”
Captain
Corelli author savages film adaptation – Louis de Bernieres did not like
the film
Birnbaum
v. Louis de Bernieres – an interview
National
Doodle Day 2007 – features a doodle by Louis de Bernieres
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